Tag Archives: barter

I drop the ball. I fall down. I get up. I try again. I never finished my 32 days. I fall asleep every night with an unfinished to do list and you know what? It is ok, I think. A very good friend of mine once told me that I could have it all, just not right now.

I have had a series of massive fails as of late and it is humbling. I typically manage pretty well and take care of business. Failure is humbling in that it reminds me that I must pay attention to my connections. If connections to people, ideas, my body are not mindfully cultivated, they fall away and fall away quickly. The connection I feel to the work that I have created over the past two years is immense. I thought that I was clearheaded about why I make art until I was sitting at a lecture at an art education conference and a woman said that creativity occurs within giving and receiving. I was floored. The statement was so simple. Connectivity through making, giving, and receiving on all levels is exactly what draws me to the creative process. I have always made work with a social message having to do with what people do for each other and I’ve found my spirituality in scientific theory about cellular and molecular connectivity. Energy, intention, and action from big to small is central to my creative process.

Now that I have this clarity in my work, I am ready to paint again. It is my goal to host a happening in which the viewer/participant determines the worth of pieces within a new body of work and in that creates a connection through the trade of goods, services or currency. The art is in the giving and receiving. All I need is a venue.

I am also ready to seek the same kind of clarity in my own world, my own interactions. I want to give and to receive in balance. Time to dust myself off and move forward. Who’s in?

It’s been a long time since my last entry. Nothing much has been happening around here except perfecting awkward family photos and eating large quantities of food. I think we all needed a break from school and setting goals and achieving them (except I’m now a week into P90x and no, I will not be posting before pictures). Jon’s back to school today and it seems fitting to start up again. I will still be posting all about being a momma, doing what you love, and living a creative life. The new name? I think we’ll go with Drawing a Blank, Creative Living and Parenting.

Paintings are bigger in 2011

I wanted my first post project post to be full of wit and charm and excitement but I’m feeling a little gun shy. I’m still working on the same piece I started on the first of the year and I haven’t gotten new images shot or my press packets together. I’m just not working at the same brisk pace as when the project was looming large. I think I will start to declare arbitrary deadlines here to make myself accountable to my interweblog readers. My first arbitrary deadline will be to get my gallery submission packets together by Sunday and have them shipped to at least 5 galleries by Monday…I already feel more in control and motivated, thanks blogosphere.

Ok enough backpedaling, I’ve been snuggling with everyday life and that’s not a bad thing. My kids and my man are being lavished with attention and baked goods (got my first cavity yesterday, goodbye sugary treats, I’ll miss you terribly).

I have however, made some really awesome trades, here’s the run down:

Traded for:

Sweet day of the week hand towels and kid napkins from my very talented aunt Kathy

A kids bike trailer

A pair of See Kia Run shoes for Milo and a hand sewn cape and cuffs set

I was talking to my mom the other day and she was asking me if lots of people were buying my work. The answer is no. A few pieces have sold and I am super grateful for that. She was saying that the sentiment that she heard from people was, “if only I had a $100.” It bummed me out and I immediately made a list in my mind of all the beautiful supportive people who have followed this project and shown their appreciation for our work. Why should only the people who have $100 get to have a painting? My efforts are worth something, yes. But are they only worth money?

In my mom’s new novel she wrote about a place where dollars don’t have value:

As Sachi ushered Adam and Gertrude into her bakery new aromas overwhelmed his senses—cinnamon, yeast, nutmeg and something rich and warm like roasting garlic. His mouth started watering.

Sachi said, “Welcome to the Solas bakery. This is my contribution.”

Adam raised his eyebrows. “Contribution?”

“Yes, this is what I give to the community. Everyone here chooses a contribution when they turn 18.”

“You mean like a job?”

Sachi scowled at him. “I remember Meara telling me about jobs. They are not at all the same thing as contributions. Contributions are done with love.”

The bell above the door tinkled as a young woman with a long blonde braid and little girl entered the bakery. Sachi greeted them. The little girl peered at Adam and Gertrude from behind her mother’s skirts, her blue eyes round with astonishment. Sachi squatted down next to her. “This is my brother, Adam, and his friend Gertrude. They have come to stay with us.

The mother took a loaf of bread from the cooling rack by the door. “We’ll see you at the feast. Welcome to Solas.” Then she walked out the door.

“Well, my contribution is baking. I put my energy into breads and pies and the like. The woman who just left is a weaver. She creates fabric. When I need fabric I go to her studio and pick out what I need. Her energy for mine.”

“And, that works out?’

“Of course it does. We do not get. We create. Is there a better way?”

Day seventy-one

Day seventy-two

When I wrote that I would not give away my artwork I immediately felt badly. Over anything else my desire is for my work to be valued by people. I want my artwork on the walls of people’s homes who will appreciate, it not just the ones who can afford it. My energy, creativity, and time are valuable and so are the time, creativity, and energy of everyone else.

We want to teach our kids that people and relationships are more important that money and stuff. When Jon and I were talking about this, Milo piped up and said, “I don’t need anything, I have everything I want.” I’ll give my artwork away. Love that boy. We want him to value his efforts and show value for others.

T-Rex

So here’s the new plan, you like it and it’s yours with a few caveats.

You are welcome to pay full price (I do have a mortgage, preschool tuition, college tuition, and health insurance bills that won’t take paintings as payment), you can pay what you can (minimum of $20/unframed and $50/framed to cover materials and shipping), or you can trade me or some combo of cash and trade. We spent the better part of the morning coming up with a list of big and small scale trades. I am happy to negotiate any type of trade and maintain the ability to say yes or no. Some things on our list are worth more than the cost of one framed work of art and we can chat on multiple works for services.

Visit the website and send me an email with the work of art you’d like and how you’d like to procure it and we’ll go from there. Don’t be shy. I am super excited to see how this all works out. I don’t want a stack of unlooked-at paintings. It’s time for my little babies to go into the world.

I’ll be posting about what trades go down.

I am also interested in the kids learning about bartering. So mamas and papas, Milo wants to trade your kid something for a custom work of art (hint: Milo likes other kid’s art).

Here’s the list (I’ve a few of you in mind specifically…)

Artwork

Haircuts

Mittens

Hats

Clothes

Massage

Ceramics (my favorite mug just broke, hint hint)

Hand-made jewelry

Books

Quilts

Pay off our student loans

Food

Cloth diapers/covers

Car maintenance/repair

Paint exterior of house

Kitchen remodel

Eyeglasses/contacts

Seeds

2, 14” wide bedside tables

Wine glasses

Shipping supplies or unlimited access to someone’s UPS account

Closet organizers

Music

Poetry

Size 8 or 9 boy shoes or slippers

Cell phones and coverage

A mountain bike

Donate breast milk

Donate 5 hours of your time at your neighborhood public school

Kids bike trailer

Contribution to kids’ college fund

Bread machine

Canned deliciousness

Baked goods

Hugs

Virtual hugs (If your name is Jessica, this is all I need from you xoxo)